G. L. Pease Piccadilly

What a delightful smoke! The Virginias are complex with high quality reds, brights, and blonds. The flavor has sweetness, that is playfully enhanced with the wonderful interplay of the Lousiana Perique and a Latakia that had a touch of sweetness. The flavor begins when one first lights up. All of this flavor, the enhancements of citrus notes and a persistent nuttiness completely fill the bill for me. Four stars, and I will never be without this blend.The

Piccadilly is from Pease's Classic Collection, his take on some well-known blends. This one is inspired by Early Morning Pipe, and while it's not a match it shares some of the character.

It's lighter than EMP, with even less Latakia flavor. The Perique tobacco is more mild than EMP's Turkish, but still in balance with the Lat. Tangy, light, and clean tasting in general.

The Virginias are more assertive in Piccadilly, and they're tasty. I've never felt like C&D-made tobacco was the best to highlight Virginia flavor, but here it's a really good mix of high note yellows and meatier reds.

The drawbacks aren't fatal here - the burn is not nearly as good as EMP, but hardly anything is. Piccadilly also gets muddy in the last 1/4 of the bowl, probably because it's more VA-forward. But all in all, I'd recommend this to a piper who wants a milder morning smoke than EMP.

Man is that some poorly treated, low-grade Perique. Smells like sour dreck in the tin, but it tastes like some nice red Virginia tobacco on the initial light. That fades fast. Latakia really only exists in the tin, once it's in the pipe it stretches out on the back seat for a nap and never wakes up again. Mostly this is muted Virginias with some very forward Perique.

The first half is fair enough, a little weird tasting for what's essentially a Va/Per with some Lat cologne but hey, different is good, right? By mid-bowl the Perique has gone sour and stays that way until the end. It starts to taste like it smelled in the tin. Stoving this blend in the pipe is not an improvement.

Somebody somewhere loves sour beers, and they should definitely try Piccadilly ... it'll be the perfect companion.

Holycrap, Perique. This tin is 4 years old and only peppery, nothing else. The Virginias are not able to balance it out, as they would in a good Va/Per blend. The Cyprian Latakia adds tin notes but can't hold up.

Maybe it's better fresh when the Latakia hasn't mellowed? It's fairly awful now.

This is based on a 10 year old tin from a "local" tobacconist in Sendai.

The tin was bluging and when popped gave off a substantial "tssss" followed by a zephyr of delicate sweet hay like VAs with hints of citrus and very faint Latakia. The perique wasn't too apparent to my beak.

My tobacco was darker than the descriptions of most but the considerable amount of age made it mostly dark browns with some orange and overripe yellow VAs mixed in with some black strips as well. The cut is ribbon but a wide cut and a bit chunky. Very similar to Haddo's delight. Easy to pack and the moisture was spot on (a little on the dry side but that's my preference).

There is a slight zing the first 1/8-1/4 of the bowl. The VAs lean towards citrus and lemony instead of haylike and earthy. The perique gives a bit of spice to this while the Latakia offers a nice base but is in no way instrusive. DK's review is spot on where it has a very soft yet sharp sensation on the palette. It is unlike most English blends that I've smoked. It reminds of a sweeter and softer Rajah's court with a bit more spice.

Progressing down the bowl the Latakia is turned up (or the VAs are turned down?) Smooth smokey Cyprian leaf comes to the front of the stage but the citrus and spice are just as nice as before. There's something floral about this blend (not lakeland) but it reminds me of a spiced fruit tea with some earthiness. It's delicious.

I will say that I think this blend is very complex without being bold. I almost feel as if it's a blend that I still don't understand after 2 oz. It is delicious nonetheless. Probably deserving of a 4 but for my preferences it stays at a 3. Wonderful smoke during the fall as the mornings get cooler or even in spring when you want a little spice with your warmer weather VAs. Well done Greg!

The Continuing Adventure of the Holy Trinity: Virginia, Perique, and Latakia.

Having fallen in love with C&D Buffalo Soldier, I had to try Pease's Piccadilly. How were these blends going to be different and which one was Going to be Superior. Same blending house. Same tobaccos? I think not.

Upon opening the tin of Piccadilly, I was granted a slightly different tin note than Buffalo Soldier. Piccadilly was sweeter(Bright Virginias) with a slight mushroomy sourness, with smokey BBQ. Buffalo Soldier being more sour than Piccadilly.

First light, is Gaslight grade Latakia. Where Buffalo Soldier is tangy perique and soft red Virginia. The Latakia in Piccadilly is not from the same source as the Lat. in Buffalo soldier. The first 3rd of Piccadilly is nice Gaslight Latakia leaf transforming into bright Virginia's with hints of honeysuckle, cinnamon and cardomin spice. The perique slides around in second gear, lending a nice mushroom sourness, waving in and out throughout the rest of the bowl.

The bright Virginias and a bit more Latakia make Piccadilly slightly different than Buffalo Soldier. Although, essentially both blends have the same flavors and are on the same team. The flavor that I couldn't put my finger on with Buffalo Soldier was a musky cinnamon, that has deeper tangy complexities, if you take your time. The Latakia is better in Piccadilly but the red Virginia's and perique are better in Buffalo Soldier.

I like Buffalo Soldier better in only that the perique shines and the Latakia really takes a back seat. But not always. Which makes it a fun ride.

I guess the main difference are Do you like your perique at the beginning of the bowl? Fading into a spicy Virginia. Or do you like your perique fading in half way through, to the end? Personally, I like perique asserting itself right up front.

I must admit that I have only had two bowls of Piccadilly verses a whole tin of Buffalo Soldier. I couldn't wait to do the review. I could tell the differences immediately. Which is a good thing, I'm gaining some experience.

If your looking for nicotine, both of these blends deliver.

I'll update if something changes.

I'm disappointed with this one because I don't think it matches what it says on the tin. This is basically just a VaPer (Virginia/Perique). There are no orientals, and any Latakia is so small it's lost under the powerful spicey Perique.

Described as a light English breakfast or early morning mixture, this is far too peppery and is just a simple VaPer with none of the complexity of other early morning blends or indeed of Pease's own Chelsea Morning.

The tobaccos here are obviously high quality, with flavorsome virginias and spicey but soft Perique. If advertised as a VaPer I would give this high marks. But it just doesn't fit the bill as an early morning blend.

I've had two tins of 10 year old Picadilly now. After I got over the expectation of it being a little more full than it is, I can say that I enjoyed it OK but won't return it's way. It reminded me of EMP, which for some is a great comparison. I don't really care for EMP that much. Picadilly has a bit more strength than EMP so to me it's preferable to EMP. All in all, it is worth a try but it's not worthy of more than a neutral review.

The Lat and Per and modestly used making the a lovely light blend and beautifully balanced. Another stellar performance by GLP.